“They still haven’t told me and I still haven’t asked,” he said on his final program today.

“Whatever. They’re doing what they’re doing. The world changes and we adapt, up to a point.

“We might want it to be the way it was, but good luck with that.”

Symons said he had been through a change of jobs before and, while he wondered how listeners and colleagues would react, what mattered most was how he felt about it.

“In some ways, the most fascinating part of it … is the concept of self image. How do I feel about me?

“I’m not going to bore you with it.

“I’m fine. Don’t worry. I shall continue in whatever way.”

The farewell capped off an eventful year for Symons, who was off air for two months to recover from a head injury after losing consciousness while walking home from a supermarket.

“I’ve been through a lot of things far more cataclysmic than simply changing jobs,” he said.

“I had my moderately-noticed near-death experience from which I recovered, remarkably, thanks for asking.

“I’m better than I was five years ago, 10 years ago. I’m in much better health, [I’m] conscious about it and therefore better off for it.”

Symons’s tangential interviews and dry wit have seen his show consistently rate among Melbourne’s top three most-listened-to breakfast programs, including at least one period as the city’s top-rating show.

In June, he apologised for an interview with ABC RN host Beverley Wang, saying it unintentionally came across as racist, which he said was “not who I am”.

The former Skyhooks guitarist and Hey Hey It’s Saturday star first presented the breakfast shift as a fill-in host in 2002, and came on full time in 2003.

After being farewelled by guests from the show, his production team and on-air colleague Jon Faine, who confessed he loved Symons, he signed off in his typical manner.

“I’ve been Red Symons. I shall continue to be Red Symons. Thanks for listening,” he said.